GORHAM — Voters in the upcoming municipal election will pick three candidates for the Town Council and two school candidates, and decide whether to borrow $5.9 million to develop an industrial park.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 5. Ward 1-1 votes at Gorham Middle School, 106 Weeks Road; Ward 1-2, Little Falls Activity Center, 40 Acorn St.; and Ward 2, Shaw Gym, Gorham Municipal Center, 75 South St.
The election looms large as top issues include managing population growth, a multi-million dollar high school renovation/expansion project and property taxes.
In a crowded race for three Town Council seats, incumbents James J. Hager Jr., Benjamin E. Hartwell and Paul R. Smith are facing off against political newcomers Richard A. Davis Jr., Tyler J. Gowen and Janet H. Kuech. Daniel A. Nichols withdrew from the race Oct. 22 for personal reasons, Town Clerk Laurie Nordfors said Wednesday.
A race for a pair of School Committee seats has incumbent Stewart McCallister sparring with James Brockman and Philip T. Gagnon Jr. Another incumbent, Kyle Currier, did not seek re-election.
All Town Council and School Committee seats are three-year terms. Robert J. Burns is running unopposed for a Portland Water District trustee two-year term.
A local referendum is asking voters whether they want to borrow $5.9 million to turn former farmland into industrial use. Under a proposed land deal, the town would spend $4 million to buy 141 acres owned by M.P. Rines Trust off Main Street. The question also seeks approval to borrow up to an additional $1.9 million to cover design, infrastructure and permitting.
The property, near the present Gorham Industrial Park, includes two parcels – one 93 acres with Main Street frontage and a 48-acre site on Libby Avenue. The proposal is aimed at broadening the town’s tax base to ease future taxes of property owners. The Town Council favored the project unanimously.
Absentee voting in-person will be available at the Town Council chambers at the municipal center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, through Wednesday, Oct. 30, and from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31.
For more information, call the office of Town Clerk Laurie Nordfors at 222-1670.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
